Shark Pantry announces it’s running low on donations

Shark Pantry is running out of funds and is asking for donations.

The Shark Pantry, located on the second floor of the Don Taft University Center, is a resource for students to get free food, such as bread and cereal. The Shark Pantry also offers toiletries like toothbrushes. It is open on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Fridays from noon to 4 p.m.

“The Shark Pantry is facing a funding shortage as we rely on donations to continue supporting our students,” it recently posted on its Instagram account on Oct. 22.

Cayla Hansen, sophomore double major in exercise and sport science and child development, is a student coordinator at the Shark Pantry. Hansen said the Shark Pantry is heavily donation-based and also relies on grants.

“Our students want fresh food like eggs, bread and milk. We used to have that, but now we can’t. We don’t have any money for it. And so now, obviously, it breaks our heart to open the pantry and to have nothing in there,” Hansen said.

Opened in 2021, Katie Gittleman, director of STEM Initiatives and Outreach, runs the Shark Pantry and helped start it with Meline Kevorkian, dean of the College of Computing and Engineering, associate provost and vice president of Academic Quality, Assessment, and Accreditation. Gittleman said different organizations usually collect items for the Shark Pantry. In November, the Shepard Broad College of Law will collect cans to donate to the pantry. Enrollment Management, Student Affairs and Athletics is also running a food drive this month for the pantry.

Nikole Valladares, junior public health major and a student ambassador, said the pantry recently had a donation from Feeding South Florida. However, the resources from the donation are running low.

“We still have some of those left over, but we are running lower and lower every day on those,” Valladares said. “We are just basically waiting to receive more funds so we can provide more resources for our students.”

Gittleman said at the end of the academic year, students can donate any remaining declining balance to the Shark Pantry.

“Usually around the last week of March, we start promoting it to let students know if you have extra money, you can donate it to the Shark Pantry,” Gittleman said.

Hansen said the Shark Pantry will continue because of the need to provide resources for students.

“We love to see students, we love to hear that it works. We love getting feedback from all of our students and hearing how awesome it is, how it helps with food insecurities, how it helps them feel more confident,” Hansen said.

If people want to donate to the pantry, they can give money to its campaign on www.givecampus. com. They can also donate food, such as canned fruits, cereal boxes or peanut butter, in the marked Shark Pantry bins, which can be found across campus.